Conor Coady insists he and his Everton teammates have huge belief in Neal Maupay to deliver the goals this season.
The French striker received some criticism for his glaring miss in the Merseyside derby draw against Liverpool, but bounced back instantly on Sunday when firing a snapshot into Lukasz Fabianski’s bottom corner for the winner against West Ham. Blues boss Frank Lampard admitted after the win that he was delighted to see his summer signing providing the goals needed in the absence of Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
The 26-year-old’s instinctive finish - rifled in on the turn - gave the Goodison Park faithful a better glimpse into the kind of player that was such a squad favourite at Brighton and Hove Albion. And fellow summer arrival Coady stressed he and his fellow team-mates were always confident their leading man would get off the mark sooner rather than later.
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“We always believe in him,” Coady told Everton’s official site. “We have such confidence in Neal and we know what a fantastic finisher he is. He showed that again. What a goal it was… that touch and finish, it was a real striker’s finish. It’s what he can do.
“He’s a fantastic footballer and he’s brought us ever so much.”
Maupay’s strike earned Everton their first win of the season, and despite a string of solid performances and renewed optimism around the blue half of Merseyside, those three points were invaluable. Defensive duo Coady and James Tarkowski typified the fight that seemed to have disappeared in the worst weeks of last season.
And the 29-year-old, on loan from Wolves for the campaign, looked back on a battling defensive performance in which Everton stood firm and kept the Hammers out for a second consecutive clean sheet, matching the passion from those in the stands.
“You can see at the end of the game how much this football club means to the fans,” the Blues defender added. “We understand as players that this club is their life. We need to go out every week and show that commitment, that desire, to play for Everton Football Club.
“The lads are working ever so hard to do that and it’s important we keep learning, getting better, and hopefully keep winning. We know we can play better and we will play better than against West Ham. But we defended well as a unit, defending crosses and set-pieces. We had to dig in, be brave and be strong and the lads did that.
“We’ve worked ever so hard in the past two weeks, with the game against Arsenal being postponed, and I think the result is what we deserved. But we won’t dwell on this win too much because we want to get better and have more wins.”
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